What Lissu misses one year after ‘assassination’ attempt
What you need to know:
- Mr Lissu, who doubles as the opposition’s chief whip, was sprayed with 32 bullets out which 16 hit him when returning home after a parliamentary session.
Dar es Salaam. Recuperating Singida East MP (Chadema) Tundu Lissu said yesterday that he was homesick as he marks one year since surviving an “assassination” attempt in Dodoma.
Mr Lissu, who doubles as the opposition’s chief whip, was sprayed with 32 bullets out which 16 hit him when returning home after a parliamentary session.
Shortly after the attack, the firebrand politician was rushed to the Dodoma Referral Hospital before being airlifted to Nairobi in Kenya for further treatment.
After multiple surgical operations in Nairobi, Mr Lissu, who was critical of several government decisions, was flown to Belgium where he is still receiving treatment.
The legislator, who has so far undergone 21 surgeries, spoke exclusively to The Citizen on a wide range of issues, but stressed his eagerness to come back home and continue with political activities.
The Citizen: Tell us one thing that you feel about Tanzania and Tanzanians in general.
Lissu: All I can say is that I extremely miss Tanzania and I miss all Tanzanians.
I miss the parliament despite all its weaknesses. I miss my Singida-East constituency voters and public rallies.
I miss my role at the Tanganyika Law Society (TLS), fellow members, leaders and followers in their millions.
I miss the struggles for human rights of our people within and without the court. I miss the advocates of Tanzania Mainland who entrusted me with respect of leading them in a very difficult moment in the history of TLS.
In the past few years, I remember to have read a poem called ‘The Exile’ by a popular poet from Soweto [South Africa], the late Sipho Sepamla. The poem explains the agony of living in compulsory exile.
In this one year of compulsory exile, being unable to meet directly with my people and family, failure to keep struggles on human rights alive on social media and being unable to lead the struggles make me understand the real meaning of exile.
The Citizen: Please tell us what you think about the tug-of-war between the parliament, Chadema and your family about your medical treatment.
Lissu: The tug-of-war is a framed phenomenon and its pity that the parliament as an institution and its Speaker [Job] Ndugai.
Mr Ndugai and the former clerk of the National Assembly Dr Thomas Kashililah met with my relatives at parliament’s office in Dar es Salaam where the former advised the letter of the request so that the parliament can release the fund for my treatment.
Health minister Ummy Mwalimu advised the same during a press conference.
The Citizen: One year has passed you were attacked, but tension is still running high over your treatment. How do you have to say about this?
Lissu: This tension has been created by created by some people and it is a disgrace to Bunge as an institution and its speaker as its leader.
Speaker Ndugai and then parliamentary secretary Kashililah met with my relatives at the offices in Dar es Salaam where the latter were advised to draft an official application letter to Bunge so that the August House could release funds for my treatment.
Health minister Ummy Mwalimu also gave a similar piece of advice at a past press conference. Letters were written as instructed, but a few days later, Mr Kashililah was removed by President (John) Magufuli, who appointed Stephen Kagaigai to fill the former’s position.
It appears that Mr Kagaigai acted under the instructions of President Magufuli that Lissu should not be given any money for his treatment by Bunge.
Speaker Ndugai himself has confirmed that in the Bunge Hall. Speaker Ndugai told Bunge in June that my medical care expenses would not be met by Bunge because President Magufuli has not approved it.
The speaker has agreed to sacrifice the independence of the legislature as a free pillar, which can advise and criticize the government.
So, President Magufuli is now the one who decides who should and who should not be treated under Bunge expenses.
This has never happened before since our parliament was established during the colonial era.
The Citizen: What is your future plan after recovering fully? Will you seek the parliamentary seat reelection or vie for presidency?
Lissu: I’m a loyal member and leader of Chadema. So, I will contest any position deemed necessary by my party through properly constituted meetings based on all deserved criteria.
The Citizen: What do you say about your driver who witnessed the attack and the help he gave you?
Lissu: There are some people, who are being used by ‘unknown people’ to spread lies that my driver knows the secret behind my attack and that the part chairman (Freeman Mbowe) has played a role in hiding him.
I have been with the driver since 2002, when he was aged just 19 after all these year he become part of our family.
He was not whisked away. He left with (Arusha Urban MP-Chadema) Godbless Lema through the Namanga border. He was issued with a temporary passport and he was not hidden in Nairobi. He stayed with me in Nairobi Hospital for four months.
The Tanzania Police Force informed my brother, who is lawyer, Mr Alute Mughwai, that it would have dispatched detectives to Nairobi to question my driver and me.
We waited for the detectives, but we didn’t see them until we left Kenya for Belgium on January 6.
My driver did not escape Kenya to Belgium. For him to travel from Kenya to Belgium, he was supposed to have a Tanzanian passport and granted a Belgian visa. He didn’t have a passport.
So, the Home Affairs of the Government of Belgium granted him a special passport that enabled him to travel to Belgium. While my wife (Alice) and I travelled on Tanzanian passports, my driver used his special passport granted to him by Belgium.
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